If you read my last post, you're probably really confused about whether I'm going to the Czech Republic or Slovakia, so let me first clarify. My host Rotary District is D2240 which covers both the Czech Republic and Slovakia. My home Rotary told me I was going to the Czech Republic, but in reality I had a 50% chance of going to either, as Rotary there decides. So about a month ago, I woke up to another official email from Adela, my country contact in D2240, and this email welcomed me to the Slovak part of the district. As soon as I found out I got Slovakia, my initial instinct was kind of confused, cause I had studied Czech so much, and already made a really good friend from the Czech Republic, but I spent the whole day talking to students currently in Slovakia and they reassured me that many of the kids in Slovakia had better experiences than in Czech Rep. and that Rotary is really nice in Slovakia, so I completely stopped caring which country I go to (not to mention how BEAUTIFUL Slovakia is.) Anyway, these past few months have been super busy for me. School ends in 15 DAYS! Wow! My school is super interested in my gap year and has featured me in multiple articles for our school paper. I'll put the link below to show you!
https://www.inklingsnews.com/b/2018/04/05/nick-bilotti-18-takes-gap-year-in-slovakia-as-first-year-graduate/ https://www.inklingsnews.com/b/2017/11/29/bilotti-broadens-horizons-through-rotary-youth-exchange-program/ Anyway, I've been taking a lot of time to learn Slovak and spend time with my friends. It's really starting to hit me that I'll be gone so soon, so I've taken lots of trips to New York and am trying to do everything I've wanted to do while growing up here. In terms of the language.... It's important to note that Slovak, Polish and Czech are all different dialects of each other. Between knowing and learning each of the three, I am so confused! One of the current inbounds in Slovakia gave me a very helpful website to learn the language which was created by the EU, for anyone learning Slovak. In addition to all of this, this past weekend was my Spring orientation! It took place in a place called "Camp Rotary" in Boxford, MA, with 23 other outbound students! The four hour drive was definitely worth it for that alone! The Rotex did such an amazing job creating fun activities for us and also really highlighting the information we need to know. I was the only student there going to D2240, but I became good friends with the students going to Italy, as I taught them so much about the culture, helped them with the language and taught them Italian card games! Although this training went over tons of rules and necessary restrictions, it still got me so excited to go! Only 15 more weeks and I'll be getting on an airplane and going. WOW!!
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AuthorNick Bilotti Contact:Instagram: @n.b Archives |